2026, Family, Government, History, Travel, Uncategorized

Lawrence In France

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The State of North Dakota gives out the Rough Rider Award annually to native North Dakotans who have been influenced by living there to achieve excellence in their respective fields or endeavors. It is the highest award the State endows.

The plaque is fairly small, with a 3-D bust of Teddy Roosevelt in the center. The recipients are given honorary rank of Colonal in the Theodore Roosevelt ND Rough Riders. They also gets their portraits painted and hung in the capitol building. Past recipients include Louise Erdrich, Bobby Vee, Peggy Lee, Louis L’ Amour, Roger Maris, and Eric Severeid.

The first recipient of the award was Lawrence Welk in 1961. I should remind Baboons that Lawrence Welk is a particular interest of mine since my paternal grandfather’s first cousin married Lawrence Welk’s daughter, Shirley.

Imagine the consternation in ND last week when it was reported that a ND couple traveling in Brittany, France went into a thrift store there and found Lawrence Welk’s Rough Rider Award Plaque. The woman in the couple stated she saw this 3-D silver image of Teddy Roosevelt on the plaque, and was astounded to see the inscription regarding Lawrence Welk below it. How on earth could this happen?

Why in France? Did Lawrence travel much in France in the 1960’s and 1970’s? Were the Welk’s so hard up after he died they sold all his memorabilia? Did the woman and her husband somehow get the plaque and bring it to France and claim they found it, thus to increase its value? It is a mystery. I hope we can find out what really happened.

What mysteries would you like solved? What award would you like to receive?What would you like your relatives to do with your things after you are gone?

33 thoughts on “Lawrence In France”

  1. Ten years ago, I received the Order of the Brilliiant Star with Special Purple Cordon, third class, from the president of Taiwan. It comes with a sash and everything. After spending most of a day to go to Taipei to receive it, and then get home, it has rested in a box on various bookshelves. I expect that, once it devolves upon my heirs, it will migrate to eBay, like others I found when looking the thing up there. And… why not?

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      1. I’m sure you didn’t intend it this way, but the question phrased like that makes the award sound more transactional and less of an honor than receiving the Order would merit.
        Perhaps you mean to ask, “How were you chosen for this recognition?”

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      2. I was included to complete an even dozen. Nine Roman Catholic priests (several from Europe) who had been in Taiwan for about 50 years were being honored. Someone asked, “what are Protestants, chopped liver?” (or something to that effect). So a Baptist, a Methodist and me (a lowly Presbyterian) were added to the list. At that time, I’d been there, visibly, for nearly 35 years, so I got in. As has been sung, “it’s all over, now.”

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  3. Here’s my guess. Lawrence Welk probably treasured that award and left it to one of his kids who probably didn’t treasure it quite as much. Either one of those four kids or one of the 10 grandkids moved to France in their retirement, and the award went with them. Then at some point, the next generation boxed up all of the stuff in the France house when the house was sold. Then maybe it ended up in one of those storage units that are occasionally auctioned off and then made it its way to the pawn shop.

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  4. Is there really a market for Lawrence Welk memorabilia? Does the award have any actual value beyond sentimental and personal? I think Sherrilee is likely correct and it’s not much of a mystery. Hunters of rare books have a saying, “Anything can be anywhere.” Objects travel.

    I have never desired any award. It would interfere with my anonymity. So far so good.

    I can’t envision my children being much interested in most of the possessions that captivate me. They have their own interests. What I don’t deaccession before I go will have to be dispersed by other means.

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    1. Remarkably (to me), there is a Lawrence Welk memorabilia category on eBay. Few of the items there are going for significant money and, of course, their presence on eBay means nobody has bought them. It’s a literally dying market, I suspect.

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  5. edith back in 1964 had a partner who went with her to lawrence welks house broke in and stole the award and then offered it to a foreign dignitary that was a huge lawrence welk fan and sold it to him for 1 million francs. the dignitary hid it in his library and now 60 years later his grandson found it after cleaning through his things and put it up on french ebay along with his gold cuff links and a bust of napolian wearing an olive leaf crown in bronze. the bust and the cuff links sold immediately but the lawrence welk rough riders award didnt. the buy it now price of 100 euros was too high so he put it up for auction starting at 10 euros where it sold to the backroom employee at a paris goodwill whose job is to find hidden treasures online they can feature in their special locked display area that keeps the high end customers coming in. it was placed next to the crown of the crownd prince of lithuania dated 1938 with real rubies. the crown sold for 15,000 euros to the estate of coco channel who had an affair with the crown prince in 1942 after he had been forced from lithuania during political upheaval. ljb found the dignatary died in 2018 but never followed up on the details. she and her partner in crime also stole the peggy lee award for north dakotas shining star award while it was on display at the greyhound bus depot lobby in dickenson in 1958. i was front page news across north dakota but lost interest as time wore on and was displaced completely when the lindberg baby was kidknapped.
    edith kept her head down and her partner in crime died in 2019 edith was sure it was behind her. but here it is wating for someone to put all the pieces to gether

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  6. Why can’t everything just work as it’s supposed to? Everything works for a while, and then it doesn’t, or a screw gets lost, disappears into thin air. I just looked up the word “entropy”, but that doesn’t quite describe it…

    I wish I would get all my stuff to thrift shops so someone can use them, ’cause I doubt that my remaining relatives will want any of this.

    I don’t think I want any awards.

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  7. Who and where is D. B. Cooper?
    What is actually going on in Area 51?
    I want my stuff to go to Goodwill.
    I want to be knighted by the King of the United Kingdom.

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    2. DB Cooper on my list as well. Jimmy Hoffa. Voynich Manuscript. I’d put Amelia on here but I’m satisfied with the evidence but it would be nice to have evidence so concrete that the wolrd concurs. Oh and those Russians who were found dead… I forget the name of the incident. (I could look it up but I’m too lazy….)

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  8. No awards, and no desire for awards.

    The mystery I want solved is whatever happened to one of my favorite agates when I moved. I can’t find it anywhere.

    My brother will get a dumpster and put everything in it. He is not sentimental. He doesn’t even look at the things he’s tossing into the dumpster. I’m so glad I was there to stop him from throwing away a small container of jewelry cleaning solution. We searched high and low for Mom’s large gold ring with seven diamonds and couldn’t find it. I took the jewelry cleaner home to use on some of my own jewelry, and lo and behold! Mom’s ring had soaked in that solution for an unknown number of months, maybe years. So glad I stopped him from throwing that container away.

    I have no explanation better than tim’s for the Lawrence Welk award. I’m inclined to think that VS is closest to the truth. Maybe his kids or grandkids put it on eBay, someone in France bought it, and when their spouse saw it they had a huge argument over the needless expense, and it ended up in the store.

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  9. I’m not worried a jot about what happens to my stuff when I’m gone. My de-stuffing project is in it’s 3rd year but it’s a very slow-moving project. I’m mainly doing it so that I’ll have less work if I ever downsize and/or I don’t want YA to have to hire a dumper to sit outside the house while she carts stuff out after I’m gone!

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  10. Dumpster. Plain and simple.
    Toss a match in and walk away…

    Rumor has it my uncle buried a can of money in the back yard in 1930 something. We’d like to find that.

    I won the ‘Golden Oink Oink’ Award from the Mantorville Theater Company back in 1985… I gave it away the next year and they stopped after that. Couldn’t find a bigger ham I guess…

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    2. I use a LOT of semicolons. A few months ago I posted a question about them to Garrison Keillor’s “ask a writer” newsletter, and got a reply from him. He said that I should go ahead, and if anyone complains, I can take comfort in the fact that I have a reader.

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